Maniac’s Mayhem: A guide to being a corporate slave

The next couple of days are relatively quiet, which is weird because I was expecting at least a little fallout from my stunt, but nothing, not even a phone call. So, instead of worrying about it, I spend most of Saturday and Sunday with Sam in the new training room. It’s not on the same floor as the hotel; rather, it’s on the floor above. The weird streamer girl bought that entire floor to set up a shooting range, a training room, some offices, and her own studio room, and there is still a lot of unused space after that.

Anyway, I severely underestimated Sam's ability to kick my ass. She has taken well to the program's teachings, and I have enough bruises to prove it. The only real advantage I have is my ability to leverage my cybernetics, and when I do that, Lyssa is always quick to point it out. After that, Sam seems to pull her punches less for the next round, which feels just a bit unfair.

Yun Min shows up a few times as well, and we go to the shooting range together. She is an okay teacher, I guess. Tough love is not a skill that I particularly enjoy, but it probably works. Shooting guns is interesting. It’s something I have never done before, so I kind of suck at it, and I am not sure if I am supposed to complain, but why do my hands hurt so much afterward. Fair to say that I will stick to slicing and dicing for a while longer. Sam, for her part, is pretty comfortable with a gun, so I guess I have to get her one in the future.

At work, everything is kind of a mess, with Le Mond 'betraying' the company and taking a bunch of money and company secrets with him. Secrets which later were posted all over the net. That is to say that our intelligence office was rather busy. Sam and I make sure to create as many problems as we solve, so the progress is slow going. The assistant manager who now had to step up was very much hired due to nepotism. So, he has very little control or clue as to what was actually going on, which is great for our plan. The stock price of New Hope has been plummeting, and through the channels we are allowed to look at, the other offices are doing their best to put out the fires as well. Sadly for them, there is always more fuel.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up with enough points for Maniac’s new upgrade. After careful consideration, Lyssa and I have decided to buy a parkour module for the teaching program to further increase her mobility.

That same day, our team was called to a meeting room. We sit there for a while just gossiping about what is happening and what everyone is having for lunch. After about an hour, our assistant manager walks in with probably the last person I would want to see, unless it was at a funeral with an open casket. It was one of the twins. My mind starts to swim with all the consequences of this situation and how I should try to keep myself safe. I keep clenching and unclenching Maniac’s mask, which I have been hiding inside my office suit jacket. Chris, for his part, is giving some kind of speech about coming together to solve all the issues that our great company is facing. I am honestly not paying attention. I feel so hot, like my skin is on fire, and I just want to run away.

Once the meeting was over, I rush towards the bathroom to calm myself down. I throw up a few times in the toilet, the stress of the situation catching up to me. As I leave the stall, I see Sam waiting for me.

“Are you okay?” Sam asks, “It looks like you just saw an antithesis hive.”

“I am pretty sure I would look the opposite of how I am looking now in that situation.”

“I guess that is true. Make sure to bring me an expensive watch after you see one.”

“Why would you need a watch?”

“I don’t need one, just think they're cool, so I want one.”

“I'll see what I can do.” I say with a sigh.

“So, you feeling better?”

“Yeah, kind of, thank you. I was not expecting this asshole to show up. You know who he is?” I say, trying to unclench my teeth.

“Chris Le Mond, son of Mathéo Le Mond, and Christa Agroria, twin brother of Fabio Le Mond, but that is all public knowledge. He also killed your brother and tried to lay hands on you. The only reason it did not happen was that Cierra showed her spine for once. Missing anything?”

“Yeah, you forgot narcissistic entitled prick.”

“Well, I guess that too. Are you going to be okay?“

“I will be fine, but It would be a miracle if Maniac is not going to do something drastic before the week is over.”

We return to our desks and get back to work, and the guy does not bother me except for some emails instructing me to do specific tasks. All in all, it is his job, so that is fine, even the time frame is a lot better than usual.

Most of the day passes without any incident, but as soon as people start to leave for the day, I get called into his office; before going in, I lock eyes with Sam.

“If I am not back in 5 minutes,” I say, “then wait some more.”

Sam nods at me, and I walk in. Well, and here I was, thinking that making code phrases was absolutely stupid. I guess they have some use. The one I gave Sam just now let her know that I want no one entering the room under any circumstance, I think. It might also have been go get bleach. Let's hope she knows what I meant through context.

I step into the office. Not much has changed here. It's the same overly fancy decor. The only notable change is that the screen behind the desk no longer displays a cityscape. Now, it displays some other imagery that should accompany an age warning. Chris, for his part, is just leaning against his new desk, looking me up and down.

“You wanted to see me.” I say, trying to sound confident.

“Yes, I did. Why don’t you sit down?” Chris says, with a creepy smile, while motioning at one of the couches.

“Okay,” I try to be confident, with a straight back, as I walk to the couch and sit.

“I hear an interesting story through the grape vine; care to elaborate?” he says, pushing off the desk, and starting to pace through the room.

“You have to tell me what story first. I don’t know if you noticed, but because of your dad, we are elbow-deep in stories that need an explanation.”

“That man is not my father!” he screams in anger.

“Okay, so the person in your previous position has left me with a lot of work, so I am not sure which one you are talking about.”

“Ooh, this is not one of those stories. This is a story about you that has been going around.”

I probably look funny at this point trying to figure out what story he is talking about. The only one that springs to mind seems to be that he thinks I am Maniac. But that should not be possible. I wiped all the data, and even online, no one has connected the dots yet. He seems to notice my confusion and continues on.

“Well, let me explain. I heard you and Cierra had a falling out, and that the two of you are no longer together.”

My brain connects all the pieces in an instant, and I almost throw up again. I feel my throat tighten. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to protect myself. Then I feel the mask. And I feel all the fear wash away. If she can do it, so can I.

“I don’t see how that is any of your business,” I say, trying to emulate Maniac’s usual aggression. “What I do in my private life is not something you should be concerned with.”

“And that is where I disagree.” He says while walking closer in his confident swagger. “A good boss should know about their employees' well-being; they don’t want productivity to drop, right?”

“Well then, you have nothing to worry about. My performance hasn’t dropped. You might even say it has increased since I no longer get distracted.”

“That might be true, but your earnings have dropped, haven’t they?”

“I would not know about that. Every credit I make is used directly to pay off my debt.”

“Well, I know your income has basically been cut in half since you stopped seeing your client.”

“In half. Huh, that is more than I was expecting, but there isn’t much I can do about it.”

“Well, and that is where I have to come in.” he says, while taking out some document. “According to the contract, if you don’t have a customer, the one holding the contract can assign you a new one for whatever price they deem appropriate.” A smug smile on his face.

I pale; it looks real; it is the one I was forced to sign when I was sold to Cierra, making sure that I consented to the selling of my body. I hold on to the mask tighter as I search my memories for a solution until it comes to me.

“You are wrong about one thing. Holding the contract means who has the legal right to it, not who holds the physical piece of paper. The one that holds my contract is still your not-dad.”

“Well, he is not here right now, so you will obey me instead.” he says as his smile slightly drops.

“The absence of the contract holder does not determine the need for a transfer to a new one. Unless there is proof of death.”

“What? So you say that you are still loyal to that traitor?” he spits at me with clenched teeth.

“No, I am not. I just pointed out that he is the only one legally allowed to assign me a new, how did you put it, customer.”

“Well, he is a traitor, and the company will seize all of his assets.”

“Sure, that is true, but you are barely a part of the company, so you will not be the person who gets ahold of my contract.”

He grits his teeth, “You think you’re so clever, but you should know by now that the world does not work like that. It is ruled by the rich and powerful, which you are not, so you better listen to what your betters have to say.”

“Okay, so what is it you want then?” I say, feeling my confidence surge.

“I want to use you for the only thing you’re bloody good for.”

“Ooh, I see. Where do you need me to hack into?”

“I am not playing games with you, Evelin. You better get naked and on your knees, or there will be hell to pay.”

“Uhm, well. No?”

“What do you mean no? Do you think you have the right to refuse?”

“Yeah, I think I have that right,” I say, standing up.

“Are you sure? I will make you suffer for this transgression!”

“More than you already have? You all already killed my parents and my brother. You have nothing left to take from me.” I say walking to the door.

“Are you sure about that?” he says just when I put my hand on the door handle.

“I think so. What else can you possibly do?”

“Well, I guess you are right. I have to ask someone else to take your place; Samanta looks nice. A bit too much street rat for me, but I guess it can be a fun experience.”

My mind reels. I feel all the heat leave my body as I go cold. I started breaking into the local network and slowly cut the connection of all the cameras in the building. Then I run some overload software just for good measure. My hand leaves the doorhandle, tracing downwards to the locking mechanism. I twist the knob, locking the room. You know, the fun part of having bosses with low moral standards is that this room has no windows. I turn around to look at him. Chris, for his part, has a victorious smirk on his face.

“What did you just say?”